The Love Paradox
by TheNeverendingDrumBeat
Summary: The guys go on a trip in order to find the one person Sheldon has ever expressed interest to so that they may cure him of his depression. They're prepared to stop a wedding and convince her come with them, but end up being surprised at just how easy it is
1. The Panic Attack Paradigm

**Hi all. I was watching the Big Bang Theory (seasons 1 & 2) and just got kinda inspired to write this fic. I tried to keep in context with the Characters' actions and speech so hopefully I didn't fail royally.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for the creation of Rosalie Tiberus.**

**As always, **** I will probably review my own work and update it where it sounds iffy, but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to read and review =) Constructive Criticism is always good! Besides I want to know what you think of it.**

They heard the keys jingle in the lock before the tall man walked in, his face blank but with eyes that showed some of the emotion hiding within. They seemed both pained and in disbelief. Tossing the keys gently in the bowl near the door, Sheldon Cooper removed his bag and placed it down on his desk chair a tad too rough for his usual self. He glanced briefly at Leonard, Penny, Raj, and Howard before allowing a brief "Hello" to escape his lips as he walked over to the refrigerator. The four in the living room exchanged confused looks.

"What's wrong with him?" Penny asked, turning to look at Leonard. A look of utter confusion passed Leonard's face as he shrugged. Raj whispered into Howard's ear, still unable to speak in front of Penny.

"I have no idea," Wolowitz said, looking at him briefly. He noted the looks on Penny and Leonard's faces. "He asked if perhaps Sheldon finally realized that he has no likelihood of reproducing and creating what he would call a Sheldon two-point-oh," he said, smirking slightly. Leonard shook his head.

"No something is very wrong… he looks like a puppy that's just been handed a bone only to have it ripped from its jaws the moment they wrap around it," he said, sparing a glance over to his roommate. Sheldon held his bottled water tightly and looked as if he were having some internal struggle. Normally, Leonard would think his friend was simply deep in thought over some new breakthrough in his work, but he had noticed the pain hidden deep under his practically emotionless face. Sheldon looked over to the group and watched as each of them looked away and pretended to be speaking about something on the television.

"I know you are talking about me, and I find it quite rude," he noted, walking over to them and sitting in his usual spot.

"Oh honey, we're just worried about you… _Are_ you alright?" Penny said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He turned sharply to stare at her hand until she withdrew it.

"I am quite fine, if you mean physically. There is nothing wrong," he said, placing his water down with a bit too much force again. Leonard pursed his lips a moment.

"No, you're not. Everything about you is not alright," he said, watching his friend closely. "And I don't mean that there's something wrong with you, I mean… well something's different," he said quickly, trying not to offend Sheldon when he was obviously in a delicate state. It was a bit like Spock in the new movie and how he would have sudden boughts of anger if there were a certain trigger, and honestly Leonard had no desire to trigger Sheldon's fury.

"You can tell us what's wrong, we're your friends. Heck, maybe we can even help," Leonard added, smiling in an attempt to cheer his friend up. Sheldon only looked at him blankly.

"Uhura," he said at last, furrowing his brows slightly. Everyone looked at him in confusion. "In the new movie Spock's romantic interest is Uhura, although no such relation exists in the original series, but that's beside the point," he added, seeming to struggle with even the notion.

"And so? I mean Uhura was hot. Hell, I wouldn't mind doing her," Wolowitz said, smiling as if he were a happy puppy. Leonard gave him a look before looking at Sheldon.

"What I think Howard means is, what's this got to do with you, Sheldon?" he said, folding his hands and leaning forward curiously.

"You mean you can't conjecture as to the nature of the metaphorical statement I just made?" Sheldon asked, looking at them in surprise. They were usually so good at picking up on social cues and inferences, especially in comparison to his limited abilities.

"No, we can only make speculation and in truth you've hardly given us enough data to do so. I'm sure our only conclusion, or at least my own, does not seem plausible and therefore I believe we require you to explain it to us in detail," Leonard answered, giving the slightest of shrugs. Sheldon could only look at them, purse his lips, and get up to walk to his room. When the door was slammed shut, Leonard looked almost as if someone had electrocuted him.

"This is so against his nature… something must be really wrong," he said, worried. Raj whispered yet again in Howard's ear, causing the both of them to look solemn.

"Raj agrees that something is wrong, well more so than usual," he said, resting his chin on his palm. Penny was still staring at the hallway that would lead to their friend's room.

"Well he said something about Uhura and… romantic involvement… with someone named Spock?" she offered, although a bit confused on the details.

"_Someone_ named Spock! How can you not know about Spock and Star Trek and I'm getting off track. Okay we need to get him to tell us what's wrong with him, because honestly, I'm a bit afraid for him. He's _never_ looked like this, not even after he discovered that he had messed up in his equations and had to go back into years of research to find the problem," Leonard said, rubbing his temples. He watched as each of them gave him a look.

"Oh alright, _I'll_ talk to him," he said, looking at them exasperated. They each wished him luck before leaving the apartment for their own homes. Penny was the last to leave.

"If you need me, I'm right down the hall," she said pointing as she closed the door. Leonard thanked her silently before walking to Sheldon's bedroom. He knocked gently: there was no response.

"Sheldon? C'mon Sheldon, you need to tell me what's going on," he called through the door.

"I don't _need_ to tell you anything Leonard," Sheldon answered. Leonard sighed before opening the door and peaking in. The sight that met his eyes shocked him entirely. Sheldon was in his bed, in his clothes, and totally wrapped up. His arms were hugging a pillow and he looked entirely… depressed.

"I think you do, because right now you look like you're about ready to jump out your window… and frankly I'm kinda worried about you," he said, sitting at the edge of Sheldon's bed. Sheldon squirmed a bit and burrowed himself under his blankets.

"No one's supposed to be in my room," he muttered unhappily.

"C'mon Sheldon, please? I've never seen you this upset… never… not even when Leslie fixed your equations and pretty much showed you up," he said, trying to get Sheldon to confide.

"Showed me up to what?" he asked, a bit of confusion tingeing his voice.

"It's a… oh never mind. Alright what's up?" he said, pulling the blankets away from his friend's face. Sheldon let out a sound like a wounded animal and attempted to drag the blankets back over his head. "Okay seriously, the only thing I can infer from your earlier statement is that you have a love interest… although I don't see how exactly _that_ is causing such a profound depressed state from you, especially since you've _never_ seemed interested in anyone of either gender in the time I've known you." Sheldon let out a little scoff and sighed.

"Your observations are correct, Leonard. I have never been interested in a romantic sense before… well except when I was in the fourth grade," he admitted, turning his blue eyes away from his friend sheepishly.

"Whoa. I didn't know you were capable of love," Leonard admitted with a bit of a nervous laugh. Sheldon looked at him skeptically.

"Of course I am, what do you take me for a robot?" he asked, his voice squeaking just a bit at the end. He sat up slowly and gently put the pillow back when it usually resided.

"No of course not. I was kidding," he lied, looking at his friend. "Tell me about her… and what she has to do with our present situation." Sheldon looked at him for a moment as if debating whether or not to share this piece of information with him. He was well aware of his personal inability to properly pick up on social cues and that when pursued by a female he was practically blind… but this girl was the only one to ever elicit such a strong emotional desire to be near her that it scared him whenever he was around her.

"Her name was Rosalie… Rosalie Tiberus," he admitted at length. "She had moved to Texas in the middle of the summer and to the shock of everyone, myself included, we became friends. When we went into the fourth grade, we were placed in the same classes and she deemed herself my protector as she would stand up to the bullies who attempted to give me swirlies, wedgies and the like. She was a brilliant girl and I found myself feeling something that was either what you would call love or an extreme case of panic attacks whenever she was around." Leonard listened in awe as Sheldon described the girl he once had feelings for and the reactions her mere presence created. He was still shocked that Sheldon was even able to notice females as anything other than part of the same species.

"Go on," Leonard encouraged, wondering if he should tell the others or if this would be a breach of Sheldon's trust in him.

"Well as you know I have an IQ of 187 and I started college at age 11. Over the years I became more and more involved in my work and I lost contact with her by the time I had my Master's Degree."

"Well then what's bothering you now? Oh god, she's not dead is she?"

"What! No! On the contrary she's very much alive… and here in Pasadena for…," he said breaking off at the last moment and avoiding Leonard's gaze.

"For what Sheldon? You're doing really well in this confiding of your feelings thing," Leonard said, attempting to cheer Sheldon up as well as get the information out.

"Her wedding."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well… Didn't you say you lost touch with her years ago? How can you assume that she retained feelings for you for all those years? _Did_ you assume she would wait forever for you?"

"No. Nothing of the sort. I simply… am surprised. I did not expect to see or hear from her again and frankly I am more shocked to be feeling such strong emotions toward this situation than I would normally feel."

"Oh Sheldon, it's called heartbreak. Welcome to the world of a normal Human Being… you're finally one of us."

"Oh no! It's worse than I thought!"

"Oh don't overreact! Now do you want anything? Is there anything I can do?"

"I want… to be alone." With that, Sheldon covered his face with the abandoned pillow and Leonard gave his friend one last glance before walking out of the room, careful to close the door behind him gently. He leaned against the wall, staggered to feel such sorrow for Sheldon. He made up his mind in an instant and started rummaging in his pocket for his phone while walking to the door. Grabbing his keys, he sent a text to both Rajesh and Howard to look up the whereabouts of a woman named Rosalie Tiberus. He then walked over to Penny's and knocked quickly before standing there, practically bouncing in anticipation.

"Oh hey Leonard. Everything alright with Sheldon?" she asked as she opened the door.

"You'll never guess in a million years what's the matter with him," he said, a slightly sad smile on his face.

"You're right, I probably won't. What's up?"

"Sheldon's in love."

"I'm sorry. What!"

"Yeah long story. Right now I need your expertise as a woman and frankly I'm going to need a lot of help in order to get her here to see him. I'm also going to need a place to hide when Sheldon realizes what I've done."

"I-Okay just-Well come in and we'll discuss this."

"Uh actually no, we've got to get going if we're going to do this." Penny looked at him skeptically.

"And what exactly are we doing?"

"Crashing a wedding before it happens?"

"Oh you've _got_ to be kidding me."

"I almost wish I were," he admitted, walking toward the stairs.

"Fine, but we're going in your car. Let me just grab my bag and put on some shoes," she said rushing back into her apartment quickly. Leonard waited at the top of the stairs hoping that this wouldn't backfire painfully on any of them. When Penny locked her door and met him, they walked downstairs to his car.

"I've got to grab Raj and Wolowitz. I think it's time we find Spock's Uhura. Kirk out," he said backing up and driving toward Raj's apartment. Penny simply let her confusion caused from the Star Trek analogy go because honestly, she was still in shock from the words 'Sheldon's in love'. Love of all things. She would have believed he had eaten food off the floor before she would have believed that Sheldon was in love. They grabbed Raj in silence and headed to Wolowitz's house.

When Howard got in the car he handed over a piece of paper to Leonard and buckled up.

"Had to pull a few strings but I got the exact coordinates of where she's staying and where her wedding is supposed to be. I even got a satellite photo of the hotel she's staying at and here's a picture of her and her fiancée. She's quite a looker and her fiancée isn't so bad either," he said, smiling proudly as he handed over the rest of the papers. Penny turned around to give him a look.

"Y'know if this wasn't severely helpful, I'd call you a huge creep. Which you are, by the way, don't be mistaken," she said, glaring at him slightly. And with that, Leonard smiled slightly and put in the coordinates into his phone and off they went to do the seemingly impossible.


	2. The Vulcan Equation

**Hi all. I was watching the Big Bang Theory (seasons 1 & 2) and just got kinda inspired to write this fic. I tried to keep in context with the Characters' actions and speech so hopefully I didn't fail royally.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for the creation of Rosalie Tiberus.**

**As always, ****I will probably review my own work and update it where it sounds iffy, but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to read and review =) Constructive Criticism is always good! Besides I want to know what you think of it.**

******Also, I had originally intended the story to be longer and so I won't post it as complete. Before I write anymore, however, I would like very much if you could tell me if it sounds fine where it ended or should I continue? Also I will probably write something of a flashback/past-fic to show the relationship between Rose and Sheldon when they were kids.**

**Another note. I'm still working on my YGO fic, Forty Five, but I had hit a bit of a wall for a bit. I'm also kinda busy with University but it's still in-progress, even if there is a bit of a hiatus. I'm actually currently working on the next chapter so... yey! =P**

In an hour, the car pulled up to the hotel. The three men exchanged nervous glances before landing on Penny.

"What? Oh no, you're Sheldon's best friend, this is _your_ job," she said, shaking her head and crossing her arms.

"Please? You know how socially awkward we are. Plus, you're a girl. She's bound to listen to you more than either of us. Besides, do you really want Raj to go up there? He can't speak to women unless he's drunk. And Howard's… well Howard's plain disturbing? Do you want him to hit on Rosalie and then we _never_ get her to come with us?" he asked, looking at her.

"Hey!" Howard exclaimed defiantly.

"Oh be quiet, everyone in this car and half of the city knows you'd try to sleep with her," Leonard said, glaring at Wolowitz.

"There's still you. I don't see _any_ reason why you can't do it," Penny said, demanding his full attention now. Leonard froze and attempted to come up with a reason.

"You know how awkward I am and how I tend to say the wrong thing in front of women, especially when they're beautiful and smell nice," he said, practically proving his point as he spoke.

"Ugh you're all useless! Alright, I'll do it!" she said, getting out of the car. She leaned her head in the window and glared and pointed at them all. "You owe me big." Her words were practically a threat and all three men visibly shrunk down in their seats. She snatched the picture from Leonard and turned toward the hotel. Taking a visibly deep breath, she walked in and went to the elevator, already aware of the room number due to Wolowitz's 'research'. Once on the fourth floor, she went to room 409 and knocked lightly. She heard two people yelling and then an object being thrown and smashed to pieces. The door was locked and so Penny couldn't get in, but suddenly a woman rushed out, her flaming red hair in a slightly tangly mess and her emerald eyes swollen and puffy.

"Whoa. What's wrong? Are you okay?" Penny asked, lightly touching the woman's arm. The woman flinched slightly before turning around. Penny immediately recognized her from her photo and gawked at how she was actually attractive woman _and_ she smelled nice. She mentally laughed at herself and decided Leonard would not have done well in this situation.

"No! I am not. My wedding's ruined… My stupid fiancée was sleeping around and I found him in _my_ room in _my_ bed with _my_ cousin. I can't believe him…," the woman said, wiping her eyes and smoothing her hair. "And now I have nowhere to go, and I can't believe I'm telling you all of this, I don't even know you," she added, sniffling slightly. Penny smiled warmly and put her hand on the woman's arm.

"Oh honey, don't worry. By the way I'm Penny so there, now we're not strangers," she said, her eyes bright and the smile sincere on her face. The woman laughed lightly and sighed.

"My name's Rosalie. Rosalie Tiberus," she said, extending her hand to shake Penny's. Penny mentally congratulated herself.

"I know this is going to sound really strange and, well, I still find it impossible, but I know someone that would really like to see you," she said. Rosalie suddenly looked a tad disturbed and started to back up slowly. "Oh! Oh no, nothing like that. Oh I'm sorry, no what I meant is… well do you know a Sheldon Cooper?" she asked, hoping to remedy the situation. However, the expression that overcame the woman's face scared Penny; the expression was a pure mixture of hope, pain, and sorrow.

"I… do. Yes, I used to know a Sheldon Cooper way back in the day," Rosalie admitted, fiddling with her fingers as she remembered her childhood crush. They had never had any form of a romantic relationship and frankly she wasn't sure Sheldon knew what romance and love were, but she had loved him completely, even at the age of 11. Fresh tears started to form in her eyes, but this time they did not fall. Penny noticed and sighed.

"Listen, he saw you, I don't know where, but he saw you and he's been something of a mess. Would… would you mind terribly coming with us?" she asked, hoping it didn't sound entirely creepy all the while knowing full well it did. To her surprise, Rosalie nodded.

"Yes, I will come with you," she said, smoothing her dress and managing to tame her otherwise curly mass of hair. She sniffled once more before wiping her eyes and nose with a tissue.

"Great. Uh, just to warn you there are three guys in the car. One can't speak to women unless drunk, the other is a nerdy perv so watch yourself, and the last one, the one driving, you don't have to worry about, he's as harmless as a kitten," she explained as they walked out of the hotel and right over to the car. Penny opened the door to the front about to climb in before she thought better of it.

"Y'know what, you should sit in the front. I'm used to the two in the back. Raj get in the middle and Wolowitz," she said, glaring at him. "You try anything funny and so help me god I will make sure you won't be able to walk for a month."

"Is that a promise?" he asked in what he thought was a flirty tone. Rosalie laughed lightly before climbing into the front seat that had been offered to her.

"Hello Rosalie, I'm sure this is really strange and awkward but you don't understand how helpful it is that you're coming with us to see Sheldon. He can be…," Leonard started, not quite sure how to finish it.

"Stubborn?"

"Annoying?"

"A pain in the ass?"

"I wasn't going to say any of those, but yes," he conceded as he started the car and drove back toward their apartment. "Now, while you two were in the hotel, Koothrappali, Wolowitz and I decided what should happen. Okay, so all of us will wait in Penny's apartment, but before that I will unlock the door and let you in. Just be careful not to sit in his seat which is the part of the couch furthest from the door and don't touch any of the food labeled his." Rosalie smiled, glad to know not much had changed in Sheldon over the years. And yet, she still felt sad at the mere thought of seeing him again. He had practically ignored her as he endeavored to succeed in life so early on. She wondered if he'd seen her when she went to Caltech for her interview. She was to start working there as a full-time lecturer on Quantum Physics in about a month after her honeymoon, but now that the wedding was never going to happen, she would be calling Dr. Gablehauser and formally requesting an early transfer so that she could start working as soon as possible. When they arrived, Rosalie's heart started to race unbearably fast.

"You ready?" she heard one of them ask.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she responded, trying to swallow the lump that seemed to form in her throat. They all got out of the car and entered the building. She noticed the elevator and quirked an eyebrow quizzically.

"Don't ask, it's a long story," Leonard said, leading her up the stairs. As they had planned, Leonard unlocked the door and wished her luck before the three men and Penny went over to her apartment. Rosalie waved goodbye before opening the door calmly. Sheldon was in the kitchen with his back to the door.

"Leonard, glad you're home, we need-," he said, freezing as he turned and noticed who it was that was in the doorway. Whatever it was they needed had escaped his mind and he dropped the jar in his hand, causing it to smash into pieces. He didn't care and stepped over the shards of glass and stopping as he reached Leonard's chair.

"Rose… What brings you here?" he asked, looking a bit like a frightened baby deer. Rosalie chewed her lip lightly and he found himself utterly unable to look away.

"I came to see you Sheldon."

"Why?"

"Because… it's been too long."

"Oh. Well hello."

"Sheldon, don't be like that."

"Like what? I'm not acting like anything other than my normal self." Rosalie took a step forward and he took one backward. Her green eyes were determined as she continued to walk toward him and he continued to back up. Finally, she cornered him against a wall and he looked helplessly around. His heart was racing and it scared him.

"Sheldon… Why? Why did you do that to me?" she asked, looking up at him sadly.

"I'm sorry, I'm very bad at social situations and frankly I'm not entirely sure what you are inferring by your rather vague statement."

"Oh shut up you stupid brilliant man!" she cried, grabbing his head and pulling him down for a kiss. He stood there stiffly and blinked a few times as if trying to compute what was going on. Slowly he brought his arms awkwardly around her but that was about all he could do. He had no experience in the field and that too unnerved him. She released her grip and both were surprised to see the other one crying.

"I-I'm sorry… I just… I've wanted to do that since we were 10," she admitted, backing away slowly. Now it was Sheldon's turn to be on the prowl.

"What I think you should be apologizing for is kissing me when you are about to get married."

"I'm not getting married, Shelly… Bradley cheated on me. I'm not marrying him."

"Oh…" Rosalie felt her back hit the chair Leonard usually sat in and she looked up at Sheldon as he seemed to study her. She felt her heart thump painfully and she resisted the urge to pull him to her again.

"I propose the testing of a hypothesis."

"Go on." He looked down at her and searched her gaze.

"Back there was merely a surprise and as anyone can tell you, I am practically unable to respond in the correct manner."

"And?"

"And this," he said, gently cupping her cheeks and pulling her face to his as he attempted to kiss her. Rosalie gasped and wrapped one arm around his neck and the other in his hair. As he was fairly unused to the motions, she was the one who started to deepen the kiss which caused him to gasp as well. He was surprised by the tongue that suddenly invaded his mouth but found it not to be entirely unpleasant. He tried to mimic the action which caused her to elicit a soft moan. When they broke apart, both were winded from the sheer emotion that kiss had drawn out.

"Oh. And was that test sufficient to provide a conclusion to your hypothesis?" she asked, stroking his jaw line tenderly. He still looked at her like a boy discovering something new and shiny and all his.

"No." And this time both were prepared for the shock to their systems as the kiss deepened and all their raw emotion came practically pouring out.

"How did you get here, Rose?" Sheldon asked, resting his forehead on hers and closing his eyes as if pained. Rosalie continued to stroke his cheek and jaw line affectionately.

"Your friends came to find me."

"And where are they now?"

"Hiding over at Penny's."

"Ah… I'll be right back." He moved gently away from her, walked over and opened the door to his apartment, and stood in front of Penny's door. He knocked his usual knock.

"Penny, Leonard, Raj, and Howard. Penny, Leonard, Raj, and Howard. Penny, Leonard, Raj, and Howard." Penny opened the door with Leonard close behind her. Raj and Howard were sitting on the couch wondering which of them would be killed first. To the surprise of all of them, Sheldon didn't say a word but looked each of them in the eye intensely before leaning in and grabbing both Leonard and Penny into an awkward-Sheldon-type hug.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"A-any time," Leonard said, not quite sure what to make of this odd expression of affection from his roommate.

"Hey do we get a hug?" Wolowitz asked, standing up. Sheldon looked up and nodded slightly. Suddenly, everyone was in the hug and for once Sheldon didn't complain, screech, or otherwise make this moment annoying. They all heard a light, feathery laugh as Rosalie stood in the doorway to Leonard and Sheldon's apartment.

"May I?" she asked, her eyes bright and her smile dazzling. She walked over and was surprised as Sheldon extracted himself from the group hug and held her tightly.

"I'm sorry for what I did as a child… It was agonizingly difficult to be smarter than everyone and even more convoluted to recognize strange emotions when it was so easy to solve equations without ever looking at a calculator or textbook…," he whispered into her ear.

"Taluhk nash-veh k'dular" she said to him, smiling as he looked at her in pure disbelief.

"You speak Vulcan!"

"Of course, although I never quite got the hang of Klingon… but yes… and I meant what I said," she answered, smiling warmly.

"Taluhk nash-veh k'dular," he responded, smiling as well.

"What'd they say?" Penny asked, confused. Leonard blinked a moment before leaning over.

"They basically said I love you in Vulcan, although the literal translation would be I cherish you which is something two bondmates would say to each other since there isn't really a way to say I love you in their language although the word for love does exist," he explained.

"Uh, I know you _think_ you explained that honey, but you really didn't. Don't worry, I got the gist of it though," she said, elbowing him lightly. Suddenly, all of them gasped as Sheldon leaned down and kissed Rosalie both traditionally and in the Vulcan manner.

"Oh."

"My."

"God."

"Awww that's so cute," Penny said, smiling brightly and clasping her hands together. Sheldon rested his forehead on Rosalie's again and sighed. He turned his gaze to Leonard and suddenly became serious again.

"It seems we're going to require an amendment to the Relationship clause in our Roommate agreement," he said, his expression back to its normal setting, although his eyes shone with nothing but pure happiness and amazement as if he'd finally awoken to his emotions after years of being in a dead sleep.

"Indeed it does seem so," Leonard agreed, mentally noting that although Rosalie was back in Sheldon's life, his roommate was very likely to be exactly the same in his habits and annoyances.

"Oh, also I dropped the jar of pickles and we are in dire need of milk," he said, remembering what he was going to say earlier."

"Whatever you say buddy."

"Well that's rather thoughtful of you."

"C'mon, I think we should go deal with the mess you made and perhaps start our amendment?"

"A very wise decision Leonard. I commend your ability to see logic in this situation."

"Oh gee, thanks Sheldon. Alright guys, I think we're going to have to meet up later. Thanks again for all your hard work and I have a very strong feeling that we're all going to need therapy after this." And they all parted for their respective destinations, or rather Raj and Howard required Penny to return them to their homes but they were all rather pleased with their work and its general success.

Later that night, Penny convinced Leonard to come to her apartment so that Sheldon and Rosalie could catch up and have some time alone. They waved goodbye before escaping to Penny's for a bit. Rosalie held Sheldon warmly and he placed an arm around her shoulders, already starting to learn. He was pretty sure that while he had been a lot like Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation when it came to relationships in the past, he believed that he would be able to learn faster. Hell, he already had the capacity to feel love, which is what he had decided this feeling must be.

"I love you… I always did," he admitted, his voice soft. "I just never understood what the feeling was." Rosalie let out a sigh and burrowed her face lightly into his side.

"And I love you, I always did but I knew you wouldn't understand… but I did… even at the age of 10, I knew that I loved you," she admitted as well, looking up with a smile.

"So it's agreed, each of us love the other?" he asked, making sure that he had successfully understood.

"Yes, silly. Yes."

"Taluhk nash-veh k'dular."

"Taluhk nash-veh k'dular right back at-cha."


End file.
